Lovino may or may not have gotten drunk the night before. He also may or may not have gotten friendly with some other crew members. There may or may not have been a lot of singing, and he may or may not have gotten too close to Antonio at some point — as in, physically close. No, wait, that doesn't seem right. What the hell did I do last night?
He went about his morning cautiously, waiting to see how the rest of the crew would behave around him and trying to get some sort of clue about just how embarrassing his behaviour might have been last night. He was going to have to ask Antonio about it… Once he finds him. As it was, he did notice that the crew's attitude towards him was different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it irked him. He really needed to find Antonio and get to the bottom of this.
But first, he really needed to shave.
"You're looking a little lost." Startled, Lovino turned about looking for whoever was talking to him. There wasn't anyone there a moment ago. "Which I know is impossible, since you've already been on board here for over a week." Antonio appeared from the deck below (the supply deck), holding a large mug — and looking clean-shaven. "Here, drink this."
"If you're giving me more wine, then I've got news for you."
"Wine in the morning? That's a new one." He gestured again for Lovino to take the mug. "It's water."
Lovino gratefully took the water and started gulping it down. "Thanks, but I was actually looking for a shave."
"Oh, right! I guess you wouldn't have come prepared. You can borrow my razor until you get yourself one in Greece."
"I don't have any money," said Lovino as he followed him towards the part of the living quarters where he kept his trunk.
"I didn't say anything about buying it." Antonio stopped and knelt down in front of his trunk, unlocking it, and rummaging through it before pulling out his straight-blade razor and a pot of cream. "I guess you'll eventually need a change of clothes too. And a trunk of your own…" he said, pulling out a mirror and hanging it on the nearby pillar.
Lovino sat on the stool in front of it and started shaving. "So, uh, what exactly happened last night?" he asked tentatively.
Antonio closed his trunk and sat on it. "What happened is you got very drunk. It was cute, really." Lovino felt his face inflame and hoped the lather did a half-decent job of hiding it. "There was a lot of singing, especially on your part. I think I can safely say it caught everyone here by surprise to discover that you're actually a very good singer."
"Nice compliment, bone-head, but I know you're just trying to flatter me."
"I'm serious! Just ask Enzo when you see him."
"Yeah, whatever. What else?"
"The usual: jesting, laughing, dancing… Draping yourself over me as you were passing out was a nice touch. I'm flattered, actually."
"Wait, I what?!"
Antonio was visibly amused by the embarrassed look on Lovino's face. He motioned for him to finish shaving. "Yeah, you snuck up behind me and draped your arms over my shoulders. Then, you passed out. That's when I did the responsible thing and carried you to your hammock to sleep in peace."
Lovino finished shaving and wiped his face with the cloth Antonio handed him. Now he was even more embarrassed. What the Hell was I thinking?
"So why is everyone behaving differently with me now?"
At this, Antonio chuckled. "Because they actually like you now. You let loose, showed your true self, and now they are satisfied with what they've witnessed. It helps that they know you were just being a piece of shit and was willingly not speaking Spanish. It's amazing how easily you switch between the two languages. I'm impressed!" He got up and started putting his things away again.
Lovino was feeling a dull ache in his shoulder since he woke up that morning, but the pain grew worse as he shaved. At first, he thought he just slept awkwardly, but he wasn't so sure now. So before Antonio could take down the mirror, Lovino brushed his shirt aside in order to bare his shoulder and reveal the massive purple bruise that had formed just over his shoulder in the shape of the wooden sword.
"Oi, that looks like it must hurt," remarked Antonio.
"No thanks to you, bastard."
Ignoring him, Antonio pulled up behind him with the same bottle of ointment from the day before and started to rub the balm on Lovino's shoulder. "I guess I could've gone a little easier on you."
"Here's a crazy idea: we don't do it again, hm?"
"You're hardly an expert yet, so that's not happening. I guess I could let Enzo have a stab at you…"
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"I think that came out wrong."
"You think?!"
"Well," Antonio finished putting his things away and locked up his trunk, "remember that it's also thanks to me you have today off. I'm going on deck to work now that the wind has finally picked up. You know where the swords are, so don't be afraid to practice." Antonio turned to walk away. "Oh, and go easy on yourself!" He beamed his usual bright smile and continued on his way to the main deck, leaving Lovino sitting behind.
... ... ... ... ...
Once Lovino was alone in the living quarters, he went up to the gallery to see if he could practice swinging the sword about. Going up the ladder was a painful chore and once he made it to the gallery, gave up on practice. The bruise on his shoulder ached too much to do much of anything with it. Instead, he sat down and waited for the pain to go away. The balm helped, but it can only do so much to ease sore muscles.
So instead of doing what he should, he listened. The Madreperla creaked as she swayed in the waves, and the wind whistled as it blew through the open portholes along the gallery. Up on the main deck, men were running and shouting commands, steering the ship with the new wind that picked up in order for her to sail in the right direction. Lovino had been on that deck and seen enough to know that Armado would be at the helm steering the rudder, with Alistair by his side, giving directions, while Antonio would be running about the deck telling the crew what to do so that everything can run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. If Enzo wasn't in the crow's nest, he was on deck joining the crew with the rigging and sailing. The rest of them, Lovino included, just did their best to stay out of the way and avoid any accidents. On mildly windy days, there was less work, and more cleaning, but this was a very windy day, and it was best if Lovino stayed below deck.
On the other hand, he also needed to learn how to steer the ship if he was going to be able to do anything but clean. That meant he needed to get up there and watch them in order to learn from them. Antonio said that they were starting to like him, so maybe they wouldn't mind answering questions. All he had to do was ask…
It was a slow process, but Lovino made his way to the top of the ladder, and peaking his head out, he looked about to make sure he wasn't in anyone's way.
"Lovi, what are you doing?"
Lovino turned his head to find Antonio walking briskly towards him. It crossed his mind that this was the first time he called him by his nickname, but before he could question the use of it, Antonio knelt down and helped Lovino onto the main deck, dragging him towards the helm.
"Ow, hey!"
"Seriously, what are you doing on deck?"
"I'm supposed to learn how to do this shit, so I kind of need to be here to do that."
Antonio sighed, looking about and making sure nothing had gone out of order since Lovino's distraction. "Okay, fine. Just don't— don't touch anything so you don't hurt yourself. If you have questions, ask." He walked away before Lovino could reply.
For the rest of the day, he shadowed Antonio, listening and observing everything he said and did. He noticed that "starboard" meant right, and "port" meant left. He understood which direction to turn the sail in order to turn the ship, and thanks to explanations from Antonio and Alistair regarding physics and navigation, he understood how the three sails worked together to keep the ship from straying off course. The maze of ropes and how they worked still confused him, but he was promised that rigging was something he would learn from practice rather than theory.
He also noticed things about Antonio he hadn't noticed before. He noticed how his face scowled in determination when he was afraid, and he noticed how contagious his smile was when everything went smoothy. His habit of running his hand through his hair was explained when he noticed pearls of sweat beading on his brow when he strained himself and how he always ran his hand through his hair to keep it from sticking to his face. He noticed the bags under his eyes and wondered what kept him up at night. He noticed how his eyes became hollow when he thought no one was looking, and it reminded Lovino of his own brother and how he looked when their mother died and their father never came home. He wanted to know why that same haunted look appeared on Antonio's face.
"Antonio! Take your charge, and meet me in my cabin!"
Recovering from his surprise, Antonio shouted back "Coming!" and nudged Lovino to follow. His charge?
Looking up, Lovino noticed someone else had taken the wheel. Armado and Alistair were no where to be seen. Someone else had already taken over Antonio's job. Lovino was still amazed by how efficient this crew really is.
The two of them went down to the gallery and walked into Armado's cabin, just like they did the night Lovino joined the crew. This time, Armado was already seated at the head of the table, and Alistair sat next to him. Antonio went to sit on Armado's other side and motioned for Lovino to sit next to him.
"Ally thinks we'll be within Greece's waters by dusk." Armado turned to look at Lovino. "Since this is your first time on a raid, I think it's a good idea to explain to you how it works. Ally."
"Hm? Oh, right." Alistair cleared his throat. In his usual garbled Spanish, he began his explanation. "As you might have already guessed from our raid in Italy, we like to use the element of surprise. We send some men on barges to the coast after the sun sets. Once they arrive, they send us a signal to fire our cannons at will, forcing the inhabitants to hide or evacuate. The men already on land kill any military that try to board ships to attack us. They're the first to be raided."
"Once the vessels are taken, we receive another signal from one of the ships, and we bring the Madreperla into the wharf," continued Armado. "That's when the fun part begins. We raid the ships for supplies, such as gunpowder, and cannons. We raid the town for food to last until our next stop. We raid for gold, jewels, and money. We board the ship again, and we're off on our merry way. Questions?"
"Does it always go as well as it did in Italy?" Lovino asked.
"No, sometimes men die," answered Antonio. "But usually we have one or two men willing to join our crew. The loss isn't as tragic as you might think."
"And all I have to do is survive this?"
"Aye." Armado rubbed at his chin and neck. He seemed exhausted. "Survive the raid, and you can consider yourself an official member of our crew. That's why you'll be among our first men to land."
Lovino's skin prickled with fear. Among the first men meant going in on the barges right? He was going to have to fight soldiers. He couldn't even land a hit on Antonio when he was just play-fighting. How was he supposed to survive this?
"I'm sure you'll find a way to survive," said Antonio, beaming that contagious smile of his.
"Yeah, you managed to survive on board the ship this long with that shitty attitude of yours," continued Alistair. "So I'm sure surviving a little brawl with trained military officers
will just be a bloody breeze for you."
Armado began to chuckle, but stopped when the door to his cabin swung open and Enzo walked in, still sporting his goggles.
"We have a bit of a problem," he said as he strode in. "I spotted Ottoman ships on the horizon. It looks like they're forming a barrage."
The laughter had been wiped from Armado's disfigured face and was replaced with a look of contempt. He turned to Alistair and barked his order. "Turned this ship around before they spot us."
Alistair did not hesitate to jump from his seat and run to the deck. Without their element of surprise, they couldn't attack.
"What's happening?" Lovino asked.
Armado simply snarled and followed Alistair and Enzo back on deck. Antonio slowly rose and walked towards the door. "A barrage means they knew we were coming," he said. That dark, frightened look re-appeared on his face. "I have work to do. She's a fast ship, but she still needs the right nudge to get to the right places." He left, leaving Lovino sitting alone, and still frightened, although where he used to be frightened for his own life, now he was scared for all of them. If the ship sank, he sank with it.
He had work to do too.
When he got back on the main deck, everyone was frankly rigging and steering, trying to change the ship's course, but the wind was at her back, and it was going to take a lot of manpower to get her to turn a straight ninety-degrees port-side and away from the Ottoman military ships. He finds Armado and Alistair at the helm with a spyglass, but it hardly seemed necessarily. Even without it, Lovino could see the row of ships, back-to-back, forming a blockade to stop any ships from going in or out of their borders.
Lovino went to join them on the helm, and asked "is there anything I can do to help?"
Armado's voice barely rose above a whisper: "There's nothing that can be done but fight, now, boy. They've spotted us."
Lovino looked out at sea towards the blockade. Sure enough, one of the ships was advancing towards them. Antonio must have noticed too, because he appeared by Lovino's side, short of breath. "We should disguise as a Spanish frigate. Unless they board, they won't know the difference, and we can sail away without a fight," he said.
Armado seemed to be considering his words, but before long, he nodded in agreement. "Enzo! Hoist the Spanish flag!"
From the crow's nest, Enzo untied the ropes holding the flags in place, and let the Spanish flag fall, a red and jagged cross on a white field. Lovino looked up at the unfamiliar flag. "What's happening? What are we doing?" he asked.
Armado walked up to him, and laid his hand on his shoulder. Squeezing down on his bruise, making Lovino wince, he said, "We're playing at diplomacy." A jagged smile formed on his lips. Then he addressed the crew. "Everyone, it's time to play dress-up! You're all part of the Spanish militia now, so make the most of it!"
"What do I do?"
Antonio reappeared by his side, and said, "you do nothing."
"Bu—"
"I'm serious, Lovi! This has never happened before and we're all just improvising here. Your shoulder is still injured, and I'm sorry for that. Let us take care of the Turks. Please, just hide, and stay safe."
Lovino watched as Antonio eyes clouded with worry, and it suddenly didn't seem so much like a mystery anymore what kept him awake at night. So he nodded, and Antonio went to take his place with the others as Lovino went back down to the gallery, where he could still listen as he hid.
Notes: Turkish ships, 'cause Greece is still under Ottoman rule in this time period.
